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This is as ridiculous as people who say "Why don't we all just get along?" Some are skeptical of megacorporations controlling the economics of information, the

This is as ridiculous as people who say "Why don't we all just get along?" Some are skeptical of megacorporations controlling the economics of information, the potential wrongs of moral control, without necessarily defending detestable people, in the same way those who defend freedom of speech aren't defending Mein Kampf.

rendall 6y ago
This. I really wish more people could wrap their heads around this idea, because it's so important. There is no a priori way to suppress "bad" speech and also * not suppress ideas that are good but unpopular * not suppress speech that is valid criticism that annoys the powerful * not suppress speech that is valid criticism that annoys the majority * not suppress speech that is true but makes most people uncomfortable * not suppress speech that is true but also most people don't believe But! With strong free speech protections, no one can suppress ideas that are good but unpopular; nor ideas that are valid criticism, even those that annoy the powerful and the majority; etc. Here are examples of hate speech laws being used in unexpected, and unexpectedly awful, ways. And, these uses are inevitable and unsurprising to those of us who have a deeper philosophical understanding of how free speech works: * https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2012/mar/15/azhar-ahmed-treason-army-facebook-comments https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/201... * https://www.salon.com/2016/11/07/french-hate-crime-ruling-sets-a-dangerous-precedent-for-lgbt-people-it-is-now-illegal-to-call-someone-a-homophobe-in-france/ https://www.salon.com/2016/11/07/french-hate-crime-ruling-se... * https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-france-sarkozy-idUSBRE92D0SV20130314 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-france-sarkozy-idUSBRE... * https://web.archive.org/web/20191115120742/https://southeastasiaglobe.com/singapore-hate-speech/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191115120742/https://southeast...

rendall 6y ago

This. I really wish more people could wrap their heads around this idea, because it's so important. There is no a priori way to suppress "bad" speech and also * not suppress ideas that are good but unpopular * not suppress speech that is valid criticism that annoys the powerful * not suppress speech that is valid criticism that annoys the majority * not suppress speech that is true but makes most people uncomfortable * not suppress speech that is true but also most people don't believe But! With strong free speech protections, no one can suppress ideas that are good but unpopular; nor ideas that are valid criticism, even those that annoy the powerful and the majority; etc. Here are examples of hate speech laws being used in unexpected, and unexpectedly awful, ways. And, these uses are inevitable and unsurprising to those of us who have a deeper philosophical understanding of how free speech works: * https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2012/mar/15/azhar-ahmed-treason-army-facebook-comments https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/201... * https://www.salon.com/2016/11/07/french-hate-crime-ruling-sets-a-dangerous-precedent-for-lgbt-people-it-is-now-illegal-to-call-someone-a-homophobe-in-france/ https://www.salon.com/2016/11/07/french-hate-crime-ruling-se... * https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-france-sarkozy-idUSBRE92D0SV20130314 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-france-sarkozy-idUSBRE... * https://web.archive.org/web/20191115120742/https://southeastasiaglobe.com/singapore-hate-speech/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191115120742/https://southeast...